Wrestling Journal Entry #4

Hair-Flipping DDTs when you don’t have long hair…

After going through the basics of chain wrestling, we had more exciting things coming up, like takedowns and the exciting high impact moves. I remember the first time I properly executed a single leg takedown, I gasped and dramatically threw my hands up to my mouth because I genuinely thought I hurt my fellow trainee. Leigh’s exact words were “You were doing well until that.” Other takedowns learned included an arm drag, a side headlock takedown, and a snapmare. I am quite the fan of a snapmare.

After going through some takedown revision, we were ready to learn some awesome high impact moves. This was the week I was most excited for. Some of the moves taught to us include a snap suplex, a scoop slam, a DDT, a standing suplex, and a hip toss. Of all of them, I was most looking forward to the DDT. As I performed my first ever DDT, my leg unwillingly kicked out and I delivered the move safely. Coming up from it, someone made a comment about how “my DDT looked like Maryse’s”, to which I followed up with “I’ll do a proper Maryse DDT next time”.

And I did. Complete with dramatic hair flip and hand gesture. I’m mildly disappointed that I wasn’t told that it was a keeper, but should I need a quick move to hit in the middle of a match, I am going to pull out my hair-flipping DDT like it’s going out of fashion.

Inspiration

SABLE AT THE GREAT AMERICAN BASH 2004

Surprise, surprise. More references to Sable.

At the mere idea that I could be a professional wrestler, my mind ran rampant with ideas for wrestling gear. I imagine that a character like mine wouldn’t wear the standard trunks, kickpads and boots, so I had to think out of the box to get my character through simply through an outfit.

Enter the Queen of everything, Sable. At the Great American Bash in 2004, Sable wrestled Torrie Wilson in what I think to be an instant classic, but that’s because I’m extremely bias. Here, Sable wore what I think to be the most iconic wrestling gear by any female wrestler in the history of any company. What could only be described as “a catsuit with a fur hood”, Sable donned a red and black long sleeve bodysuit with shorts that went up her butt, that had a large hood attached to it.

To make it better, the Queen walked out with the hood up, strutting with a confidence only she had, and then took the hood down whilst sexy dancing. Like come on. How can you top that? Soz not soz Torrie.

I had to have something like this iconic piece of gear. Enter Paradise Gone, a clothing label that I was going to commission into making me something equally as iconic.

My first APWG show and the merge into the main class…

Prior to starting at APWG, I had never been to an indy wrestling show before, so I had no idea what to expect. During my training, I was unable to make the first show I would’ve helped out at due to pole dancing commitments, but I was going to make sure I could attend the second one.

Since this business is all about paying dues and earning respect among those who have been there longer than you, us rookies helped load the ring into the truck, take the ring down at the venue, set the ring up, and also help out in any way we could during the day. The rookies also got to train running the ropes and taking the corners, meanwhile all I could think of was how this was my first time in a wrestling ring.

I know Kelly Kelly despised running the ropes so I was pretty scared to take it, knowing that ring ropes are basically wire covered in tape. And I understand why she hates it. Because they hurt. A lot.

As the show was beginning to start, I was in charge of social media (Instagram, more specifically) and security. Experiencing my first indy wrestling show as actually amazing. I enjoyed every second of it, made all the more better by the fact that I knew the people on the show. And, more than anything, it made me hungrier to get in the ring and perform in front of friends, family and fans.

My time in the introductory course was up, and it was time for the rookies to merge into the main class to learn some more and train with the guys who have been around longer. I was disappointed to see that of the 12 people that started with me, only me and one other guy Dylan hung around consistently. But the show must go on, and that meant more time with the more experienced guys, and more attention from Leigh and Diego.

One day at training, Diego made me do something I had feared doing: a top rope move. I can hang upside down on a pole with one leg five metres in the air and feel completely safe and secure, but leaping off the top turnbuckle which would barely be 1.5m off the canvas terrified me. We built a stack, did a crossbody onto a training partner, and then the stack would get higher and higher. I was in over my head, but the support of the wrestlers I trained with got me through it, and I was able to deliver convincing crossbodies, each from different heights.